Blackman and Gollop pupils in national tree-planting drive

Blackman and Gollop Primary School pupils joined Barbados Defence Force soldiers and sailors to plant 65 shade trees on Friday, as Barbados advances a monthly national effort ahead of its “60 and Five” celebrations on November 30.

The initiative forms part of a partnership between the BDF and the National Conservation Commission (NCC) to plant 65 trees every month leading up to November 30, when Barbados will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Independence and five years as a Republic.

Principal Harriet Blackman said 36 students from Classes 1 to 4 took part in the exercise, with each student paired with a BDF officer.

“I am pleased to be part of the Tree Planet exercise for 60 and five. We have 36 students here participating in the tree-planting exercise, and I’m happy that the school has been selected to be part of this,” she told Barbados TODAY.

The exercise gave the students an opportunity to participate in a national initiative while also supporting the school’s environmental goals, she said.

“It serves to help them to be part of something national.

“We are gonna strive to do our best to keep these trees because it fits in with our mandate that we have in terms of tree planting, also providing shade for the school, and it will also encourage our students to look after our environment.”

She said giving the students responsibility for the trees would help them develop a stronger connection to the environment.

“They will have a stake in it and therefore it will help them to remember the importance of it.”

The project is also expected to create a new outdoor learning space on the school’s compound.

“As we prepare the space this morning, it also serves for us down the line as an outdoor classroom with shade,” Blackman said.

“We’re hoping that as we go down the line we can place some benches, some tables, and encourage our teachers and our students to use the space for educational purposes and also for recreation.”

Dewyn Phillips, coordinator of the National Tree Planting Programme in the Ministry of Environment, said the ministry was pleased to be working with the BDF on the initiative.

He said the partnership brought together three important areas — national security, education and environmental conservation.

“It’s a collaborative effort, basically one of the Defence Force, where we look at protection of the boundaries, one of the schools which represents education, and the one of NCC which would represent environmental conservation. 

“These three…we are looking at these synergies, [and] looking to push forward for every month leading up to Independence Day.”

Phillips said there were hopes of taking the tree-planting initiative to additional schools before the November 30 celebrations.

(SB)